Al Fayed says Lawrie will be a Cottage hit

By Steven Beacom

Fulham chairman Mohammed Al Fayed has backed Lawrie Sanchez to be a hit at Craven Cottage.

Al Fayed is celebrating 10 years as the Fulham owner this week and is determined that his club will go from strength to strength over the next decade.

And to that end he has put his faith in former Northern Ireland manager Sanchez who, after taking over from Chris Coleman in a caretaker role last season, was given millions to spend in the summer when he was appointed as the full-time boss.

With all that money Sanchez brought in FOUR Northern Ireland players - David Healy, Aaron Hughes, Chris Baird and Steve Davis.

They all played in Saturday's 0-0 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

That was a fine result for Fulham but, to date, they have won only one of their eight league games this season and are currently lying fifth bottom in the Premier League table.

They will go down one place if Spurs beat Aston Villa tonight at White Hart Lane.

Nevertheless Al Fayed believes Sanchez will take Fulham forward.

"This is a big opportunity for Lawrie to prove himself in the Premier League," said Al Fayed.

"He has spent a lot of my money and we have a good team now.

"We are going in the right direction and Lawrie Sanchez is doing a great job."

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